FIA endorse historic F1 championship

In partnership with Masters Historic Racing, the FIA has given a new lease of life to the Historic Formula One Championship and has created a historic FIA Championship dedicated to Sports Cars from 1962 to 1974.

Contested since 1995, the FIA Historic Formula One Championship is set for a fresh start this year. A true living museum showcasing Formula One cars from the end of the 60s to the mid-80s, the competition will be co-organised from this season onwards by Masters Historic Racing and will be renamed the “FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship”. The 2013 season will comprise eight events, starting at the Catalunya de Barcelone circuit in Spain on 13 and 14 April. Events will follow on circuits which, although some of them have undergone changes to their layout in the meantime, have all held Formula One Grands Prix in the past: Brands Hatch, Dijon, Silverstone, Nürburgring, Zandvoort, Spa-Francorchamps and Jerez. This decision was taken by the World Motor Sport Council on 8 March in Geneva (CHE).

The sporting regulations of the 2013 FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship are almost identical to those in force in 2012, the only major differences being that from now on, for safety reasons, starts will be rolling and the maximum speed for Cosworth DFV engines has been lowered from 10,600 rpm to 10,000 rpm.

The FIA championship dedicated to former Formula One cars has been revitalised following low participation levels over the last two years. Behind the wheel of an ex-Piquet Brabham BT49, Spaniard Joaquín Folch, winner of the 2012 edition, is excited by this new energy injected into the Historic Formula One Championship thanks to the joint efforts of the FIA and Masters Historic Racing: “Following two seasons marked by fields which were not big enough, the choice of a partnership between the FIA and Masters Historic Racing is certainly a positive step forward and the only way of securing a solid future for historic Formula One races. If I cannot enter all the events in 2013, I will compete in at least five of them, once again behind the wheel of the Brabham BT49. Purists, myself among them, will perhaps be disappointed to see the end of standing starts, used during that era, but I entirely understand the reasons for which the co-organiser and the FIA have chosen to use rolling starts.”

This new context for Formula One cars from the past will be accompanied by another new development for historic circuit competitions. An FIA Masters Championship has been created for pre-1974 Sports Cars. The competition will be open to Sports Cars, Prototype Sports Cars and Group 4 GTs from 1962 to 1974 (Periods F, G and H). The calendar of this new championship is identical to that of the FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship, making the events concerned very enticing. Depending on the event, the crews will either run a single race lasting a minimum of 50 minutes (with a mandatory pit stop) or two races of 30 minutes each.

Ron Maydon, President of Masters Historic Racing, said: “I am delighted that we have now become the guardians of the FIA Historic Formula One Championship, and to create for the first time a sister FIA championship for historic sports cars. Having worked closely with the FIA over the past many months, we are delighted with the terms of the FIA agreement, which offers us freedom and security to develop both series in the coming years. We are pleased to be able to have kept our entry fees at similar levels to previous years, with the added benefit for all competitors of FIA Championship status. We hope we will be able to provide a focus for an excellent Historic Formula One category in 2013 and beyond, running alongside the new FIA Historic Sports Car Championship.”

John Hughes, President of the FIA Historic Motor Sport Commission, said: “We are about to see a major revival of historic circuit championships, and thanks to this partnership with Masters Historic Racing, the FIA will offer two Championships equal to the prestige of the cars involved. Bringing these Championships together in the context of the same meetings will strengthen their attractiveness for the public, for the teams entering cars and for the drivers, several of whom have cars in their collection which are able to compete in both championships. Although it is managed entirely independently, the FIA Lurani Trophy for Formula Junior Cars will share a venue with four out of the eight FIA Masters Championship events, at Brands Hatch, Dijon, Nürburgring and Jerez. This confluence of all current FIA historic circuit championships is yet another indication of a successful future, possibly with even more categories in store for 2014.”

To see the Sporting Regulations of the 2013 FIA Masters Historic Formula One Championship, click here.

To see the Sporting Regulations of the 2013 FIA Masters Historic Sports Car Championship, click here.